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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

In Seattle, it's bikes vs. business

In most cases, these road restrictions have been shown to provide no measurable benefit to the bicyclists and pedestrians that the city administrators purport to champion. Rather, these actions seem to be an arrogant and capricious show of force by a small cabal of elitists intent on imposing their agenda. This agenda comes at the cost of obliterating the maritime and industrial sectors and eliminating the neighborhood-based small businesses that are the background of Seattle’s economy and vital to our social and cultural fabric.

It's ironic that most of those now acting to destroy the maritime-centric jobs and neighborhood dynamics that make Seattle so desirable were first drawn to move here by those very urban attributes they are now intent on eradicating.

Comments (1)

Be sure to read the comments underneath this article, all of which (right now, at least) are thoughtfully written and all of which take serious exception to the author's viewpoint. I'm not familiar with this particular neighborhood but I do spend quite a lot of time in Seattle (I'm here now, as a matter of fact) and I can tell you the bike-vs.-car debate plays out quite differently here than it does in Portland, where it is more personal and polarized. One thing I can say for sure is that an 8.5 percent grade is not nearly enough to deter cyclists in hilly Seattle. There are many steeper inclines here where cyclists are plentiful. For example, Denny Way at I-5 is easily twice as steep, but heavily used by cyclists as a major link between downtown and Capitol Hill.

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 80
At this date last year: 89
Total run in 2014: 401
In 2013: 257
In 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269